Breaking In and Shaping Up
by TheFreakWithTheWings
Summary: Why the Greek gods no longer associate with the Norse gods.


A/N: This was an assignment for my Greek and Roman Mythology class. I'm going to have to slim it down a lot for class, but I wanted to get the original out into the world.

0o0o0

Poseidon was the first victim, although he didn't know it at the time.

It was the spring equinox, the second after his brother had been swept away by Persephone, and Demeter had demanded that all of the Olympians be in attendance for her daughter's return from the Underworld. One of the Oceanids had hooked up the horses to his chariot, so Poseidon stepped into it and commanded them to go with just enough time to be punctual to the party, if not a tad late.

Everything was smooth sailing at first, but once they got above the water the sea god grew alarmed. One of the horses was definitely not his; the shift from saltwater to air must have disrupted whatever spell it was that had disguised the eight legs of the strange horse.

Poseidon halted the chariot and got out to inspect the monstrous horse.

"What are you supposed to be, and who put you in my stables?" he asked.

Instead of responding in a respectful manner as most horses did - he was their creator after all - it bit him, hard.

"How dare you!" he shouted, the earth beneath his feet beginning to rumble with his anger.

It laughed.

Poseidon raised his trident, preparing to smite the beast, but it disappeared.

The sea god stared at the empty space where a monster had just been.

"Oh Styx," he cursed when he realized that he would have to go all the way back to his palace for another horse and would be late to Persephone's party. "Demeter is going to kill me."

0o0o0

Later that day, Prometheus was lying against the cliff he had been chained to for countless years, trying not to cry out as the eagle gnawed on his liver. He didn't even bother to fight it anymore. He knew that there would be an end to his torment someday, but the hero had not yet been born. All he could do was endure for now.

A low growl tore his attention from the eagle.

A giant wolf, easily the size of a horse, with glowing red eyes, was crouched on the cliff above him, its teeth bared in a frightening snarl. Prometheus was puzzled. Had Echidna been breeding again?

The wolf leapt at the eagle, pulling it from Prometheus's side, and, with the bird's head in its jaws, whipped its head back and forth. The eagle struggled mightily, but it was helpless against the wolf's greater strength. Its neck snapped with a loud crack.

"Good job son, Daddy's very proud of you," said a red-haired man who jumped down after the wolf. It gently bumped its head against the man, the eagle still hanging from its mouth.

"It will be back tomorrow," Prometheus said to them.

The man turned to look at him. "Is that so?"

Prometheus sighed. "None but the son of Zeus can slay that bird."

The man grinned at him. "You don't need to worry about that anymore."

"And why is that?" the titan asked.

"I'm a big fan of your work with the fire and the trickery, so I'm breaking you out of here," the stranger said. "Also, I take any excuse to cause mayhem that I can get."

Prometheus wanted to question the other man further, but he felt it would be wiser to wait until after his chains were broken.

The man pulled an ornate glove onto his right hand and raised it into the air. A strangely shaped hammer flew into his hand and he swung it down onto Prometheus's chains. Lightning cracked down from the sky, through the hammer, and broke the chains.

For the first time in more years than he cared to count, Prometheus stood up and stretched. It felt glorious.

"Well, don't just stand there all day. I know a Coyote who'd love to meet you."

0o0o0

Hermes was great at multitasking. Currently, he was searching for Zeus while at the same time avoiding Demeter. She wanted to interrogate him about her daughter's journey from Hades' realm, but Hermes had urgent news for the Big Guy and no time to chat.

Desperately searching for his father, Hermes didn't even see Athena until he bumped into her and knocked himself off balance.

"Careful there Hermes," she said, steadying him with a hand on his shoulder. "Where's the fire?"

"With the mortals, since Prometheus stole it. Or Hestia might have it, unless Hephaestus is borrowing it. I don't know. Why are you asking me difficult questions?" he exclaimed.

Athena's grey eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing's wrong, why would you-"

"You're babbling," she said calmly. "Something's wrong. What is it?"

Hermes' shoulders slumped. "Prometheus is missing."

Athena's eyes widened. "So you're looking for Dad."

He nodded glumly.

The goddess sighed. "Alright. When you find him, tell him that I've gone looking for Prometheus. Oh, and did you see anything strange at the mountain?"

"Now that you mention it, I do remember a funny looking hammer was lodged in the rocks." Hermes said.

Athena raised her eyebrows. "A hammer? Hmm. Do you know where Iris is?"

0o0o0

Loki and Prometheus had parted ways after he had freed the titan from his chains. Prometheus had headed west, towards the Celts, while Loki had chosen to stay in Greece. There was still so much chaos to create; after all, he had managed to tick off the sea god and free one of Zeus' prisoners, and it had only been one day.

He was hiding out in a tavern in a coastal city obsessed with olives. Loki had heard somewhere that their royalty was part snake, and he was thinking of kidnapping one. Jormungandr was getting old enough to marry now, and it was difficult for him to meet any nice girls while he was busy encircling Midgard.

He was ignoring the raucous noises of the mortals while he slowly worked his way through a mug of weak ale. It was pathetic what these people considered good alcohol.

A sudden hush fell over the room, and Loki looked up to see that a beautiful woman had just walked into the tavern.

She had steelygrey eyes and an uncompromising tilt to her jaw. She carried a spear in one hand, and a shield was slung across her back. Loki was delighted. Shieldmaidens were great fun to mess with.

The shieldmaiden sat down near the hearth, and Loki immediately abandoned his weak ale to sit next to her as the noise in the tavern returned to its previous level.

"Hello beautiful maiden," he said, smirking. "Are you all alone?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You are not from around here."

Loki chuckled. "How did you guess?"

"Local men know better than to approach me in such a flirtatious manner." she said.

Loki felt a hint of unease. "Why is that sweetheart?"

The woman smirked. It was frightening. "Locals know their patron goddess when they see her."

Loki's mind raced furiously. Which of the Greeks liked olives? Had it been the moon huntress, or maybe the foam-born harlot? No, he remembered with a sinking feeling, the olive one was the war goddess, one of the ones he had been hoping to avoid.

"So sorry to have offended you my dear, but I really must be going now," Loki said as he hastily stood up from the table and tried to leave.

Faster than Loki's eyes could track, Athena brought the tip of her spear up to rest in the hollow of his throat, and he froze in place.

The light streaming in through the window behind the goddess shimmered into a rainbow, and then another goddess was standing next to Athena, winded as if she had run a great distance.

"I found the Aesir as fast as I could,my lady," she said between panting breaths. "He should be here any minute now."

"Very good. Return to Olympus and inform my father of these developments." Athena commanded, her eyes never leaving Loki.

"I really don't think it's necessary-" Loki began.

"Silence. I have heard tales of your silver tongue, and I advise you to still it lest I cut it from your mouth," she warned.

The other goddess departed in a shimmer of light, and it wasn't long before another god arrived, although this one was decidedly not Greek. He wore too many furs, for one, and the eyepatch gave him away as Odin, Loki's brother.

"Brother! How kind of - urk." Loki broke off because Athena had pressed the spear deeper into his neck.

"I apologize for any harm my brother may have caused," Odin said, ignoring Loki.

"Just get him out of here, and make sure he never comes back. Do not forget to retrieve Thor's hammer," the grey-eyed goddess said as she removed her spear from Loki's neck.

"Of course," Odin nodded. "Come, Loki."

Odin took him by the shoulders and led him away.

0o0o0

Back on Olympus, Athena was having a private audience with Zeus.

"I advise that we never contact the Norse gods again, Father," she said, finishing her report.

"Yes," he nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds wise. It shall be as you say. What about Prometheus?"

"Do not worry, as soon as we are done here I will enlist Artemis' help in hunting him down," she said.

Zeus smiled. "What would I do without you?"


End file.
